HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ VIRGIL SHAW

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ VIRGIL SHAW

* Providing the A's to the 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Q's today is Virgil Shaw — a music-maker out of San Francisco who recently dropped a great new album called ‘At The Time I Didn't Care’ (and you can catch the track ‘New Mid County’ on the HI54 Mix CD ‘MOUNTOWN LIFE’) // Artist photo by Sonny Smith

#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?

Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers.

I keep coming back to this album over the years. It’s raw, unpretentious, a little funny at times, and seriously kicks ass.

#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?

This Old Dryer. How to fix and remodel late century clothes drying appliances.

HI54 note: I could not find a tv show/movie called “This Old Dryer” to link to / embed a clip, but I did find this GIF of George Costanza looking at a dryer (but there is a Youtube show called ‘This Old House’ and they talk about washers/dryers sometimes… so maybe that’s what we’re talking about here)

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE LOCAL BOOK STORE (OK, MAYBE THE LOCAL LIBRARY FIRST) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?

A novel by Beth Lisick, Edie on the Green Screen.

At times it’s uncomfortable for an aging rocker like me, but it nails the San Francisco gentrification vs the antiquated Hipster Art and music scene.

#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?

An app, Libby by Overdrive. Get your self a library card and this App, and listen to thousands of free books.

While at work or at play, listen to this book app all the ding dong day.

#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITTING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.

Go metal detecting by yourself. Don't bring kids or partners or relatives. It’s fun and sometimes you find a treasure. No one is asking you to do stuff or fucking with you.


OK folks, there you have it. Things that Virgil Shaw thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go detect some metal, make sure to follow Virgil on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and then also give ‘Mid County Fair’ a listen…

…and if you like what you’re hearing, go do some further virgil-shaw-flavoured audio exploring over on the Bandcamp / Spotify.


FANDCAMP: El Mar Convertido en Oceano

FANDCAMP: El Mar Convertido en Oceano

FANDCAMP: Stars

FANDCAMP: Stars